Dinner, Drinks, and A Debate: VP Edition

Second place! It could be decided tonight! Maybe! Or not! Who knows? But one thing is certain: After the debacle that was last week's presidential debate, when Vice President Joe Biden and Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan square off tonight in Danville, Kentucky no one is gonna be pulling any punches. And while this fight is between two men who aren't at the top of their tickets, both are coming to play, both have pretty good reps as debaters, and both need to score points for their guys. The gloves are off, folks. This is gonna be a brawl. You'll need to fortify yourself to sustain the body blows to your spirit that come along with watching the year-long prizefight for the heavyweight championship of the world known as Death Race 2012.

First, some finger food inspired by the VP and former Delaware Senator Joe "Call me Joe" Biden. Delaware, of course, is nowhere. But it's pretty close to someplace called Maryland and the Chesapeake Bay, which in ye Olde Times when Biden was young and living in a car with fifty relatives in Scranton, PA ("That hellhole!"), had fish and shellfish and crabs and stuff that you could eat. And we're inspired by a time when there were shrimp along the shores of these (almost, sometimes) United States. So, in honor of Joe B. we're passing along a classic, totally union-friendly, simple-as-hell steamed shrimp recipe not from some artisanal, boutique-y, fancy-pants gourmet shop/commie outpost, but instead from the proprietor of the mid-Atlantic's original seafood seasoning, Old Bay:

DIRECTIONS
1. In a medium saucepan, mix vinegar, water and OLD BAY.
2. Bring to boil on medium heat. Gently stir in shrimp, then cover.
3. Steam 2 to 3 minutes or until shrimp turn pink. Drain well.
4. Serve immediately or refrigerate until David Gergen shows up on TV

ROUND TWO! Cornbread! 'Cause, well, Paul Ryan and Joe Biden are both corny as hell, and cornbread is awesome, and we're totally in the tank for Team Obama, who's totally in the tank for the corn industry. [What up, Hannity?! Yeah we said it! ECLME! That's how we roll!]

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
2. Use unmelted butter to generously grease 8-inch skillet and place in heating oven.
3. Combine dry ingredients in a bowl.
4. Just barely whip eggs and mix with milk and melted butter in a second bowl.
5. Stir combined wet ingredients into dry. Don't overdo it; you want a fairly lumpy consistency.
6. Remove skillet from oven and pour in mixture.
7. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the cornbread browns around the edges and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Next, the main course. Paul Ryan's a sausage man. He likes to make his own, grinding venison into casings and stashing them for those long Wisconsin winters he spends in Washington (except on Sundays when he's home being a great dad, hunter, and record-setting marathoner—HONEST!). We used bratwurst cause the one thing we agree with Paul Ryan about (besides the fact that, well, no, this is the one thing, actually), is bratwurst = awesome. They are friends to the American people. And they are foolproof to cook.

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat the oven to 400
2. Slice the brats into rounds about 1/4 inch thick
3. Wash, dry, and slice the fingerling potatoes into somewhat equal-sized wedges
4. Chop the onion, but not very finely
5. Thinly slice the garlic cloves
6. Slice the bell pepper into strips
7. On the stove, pre-heat a large cast iron pan (or other oven-safe pan... which means: nothing with a rubber or plastic handle)
8. Put all your veg in a large mixing bowl, and add a generous amount of olive oil (about 2 Tbsp.) as well as half of each of the fresh herbs, salt, pepper, and chili flakes. Toss well, preferably with your hands.
9. Add the brat rounds to the hot pan, and cook for a minute or so. Then add the veg to the pan and cook for 8-10 minutes on medium-high heat, stirring every minute of so. Let all the edges get crispy. It's OK if stuff sticks to the bottom.
10. Transfer the pan to the oven and cook for about 20 minutes. Give it a toss 10 minutes in.
11. After you've determined that the potatoes are done, transfer the pan back to the stove and turn it on. Add butter, wine, and the rest of the herbs, and cook (tossing a few times and scraping the bottom on the pan to release the crispy bits) until the wine and butter is absorbed—about five minutes.
12. Taste, and add more salt/pepper/chili as needed. Serve with stone-ground mustard on the side

NOTE: Once you've transferred the pan from the oven back to the stovetop, keep the oven mitt on your hand. Because you will forget that the handle is extremely hot.

FINALLY! A drink to steel your nerves for the big brouhaha. We asked Michael Lay of the James Beard-award-nominated Restaurant 1883 to work up something straightforward and strong (like the candidates want us to think they are). He went with a 90-proof-bourbon-based cocktail accented with a few notes to bring out the booze's flavor and power. We don't want a lot of frills. Times are tight. Think belt-tightening, but for booze.